Garden walk looks to attract visitors, raise funds for scholarships
With warmer weather here to stay for the next few months, gardeners may want a chance to showcase their selection.
In the Fox River area, a few households will let neighbors and strangers alike into their gardens.
This weekend, four families from Cary and Barrington will allow ticketholders into their gardens and homes as part of the Cary-Grove Garden Walk on Saturday, June 25.
They are expecting about 60 people to attend the event, said Dorothy Miller, owner of the Lake Julian Trout Farm and member of the Garden Walk committee.
The tour showcases local homeowners demonstrating gardening excellence and homeowners who were willing to participate in the event. Participants are bused from each home and offered food, refreshments and live music at each stop.
Suzanne Corr, executive director of the Cary Grove Area Chamber of Commerce, said the garden walk was started nine years ago as a fundraiser for the scholarship, and has since become the chamber’s largest fundraising event for its scholarship program. This year, two $1,000 scholarships were awarded to two students.
“It started solely as a fundraiser idea,” Miller said. “We were trying to figure out what else we could do to raise money for the fundraiser.”
The walk has become more than just a tour — it has become a progressive experience, added Corr. A wide variety of area businesses now donate their services to the walk. Food sponsors include Galati’s Pizza and Pasta, Chris’ Coach House, Orchard Prime Meats and Wine Shoppe and Broken Oar, among other businesses.
“We all get to see very different and unique aspects of the area,” Corr said. “It’s really a first-class, beautiful tour where homeowners get to share their stories of their (gardening) work.”
Miller said possible garden hosts are considered using a common technique: gossip.
“It’s a lot of word-of-mouth,” Miller said. “Someone will call us and say ‘Oh, they have a beautiful garden’ and we take notice of those comments.”
If the homeowners decide they want to participate, then they are expected to be actively involved in the preparation and final presentation of their homes. Judy O’Leary, Garden Walk committee member, said the hosts have been great in preparing to have so many visitors in their homes and have been nothing but kind to the committee’s requests.
Corr said tickets are still available for the garden walk. Tickets are $70 and can be purchased at the Cary Grove Chamber of Commerce, 445 Park Ave., or by calling the chamber office at (847) 639-2800.